Playing in the wiki sandbox

As part of our Web 2.0 exploration project, our library system set up a "sandbox" for us to play in our library wiki. It was fun! We got to add some entries to this "favorites"-themed wiki. I chose to "play" with the "Favorite Vacation Spot" page and the "Favortie TV Show" page.

My entry for "Favorite Vacation Spot": Alaska!!!

My entry for "Favortite TV Show": I couldn't narrow it down so I picked my current favorites: Battlestar Galactica (new series), Doctor Who (new series), House, Pushing Daisies, and Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

As I discussed in my previous blog entry, I am wary about using a wiki to disseminate information could be problematic, particularly if the author is unreliable or careless. However, wikis used in this informal manner can be a fun way to share ideas. For example, you can create a wiki for your family and share news and photos, or if you are in a club, you can share information about events and meetings. The possibilities are endless.


Namaste.

On Wikis and Library Services

The concept of wikis is interesting, especially to one who works in library and information services. Knoweledge dissemination is structured and formalized. Collection development librarians purchase materials based on a certain criteria: an author's knowledge, a reputable publisher. A cataloger organizes a book's information in a standardized manner. Journal articles are peer-reviewed. You get the idea. Those of us who love information love to organize it and take control over it! We're knowledge authoritarians!

Library Success: a Best Practices Wiki is an example of presenting knowledge in an informal way, and information listed on a wiki is not necessarily written by an expert. Wiki's are egalitarian. They're collaborative. Is this good?

I think wikis like the one above can be useful in that it is maintained for the most part by a group of professionals. I came across a section of "Library Success" that deals with my area of library services: adult programming. The section included "ideas for adult programming", a list of related blogs and web sites, and links to articles. I even found a reference to a library that had created a database of programs, something I am interested in since I'm collaborating with a colleague to create a programming database as tool for our branch librarians to use in program planning.

So are wikis useful in other instances? The granddaddy of all wikis is the ubiquitous Wikipedia. The jury is still out for me on whether or not this is a reliable source of information. I cringe when students cite "Wikipedia" as a source, especially when they are doing an essay on an easy-to-find subject that can be found in the easy-to-use World Book Encyclopedia.

Namaste.